Abstract:

An anthropometric analysis was conducted on 19 elite male South African cyclists with a mean age of 24,2 years who had been competing on average for eight years. Subjects were allocated, for purposes of comparison, to a track or road group on the basis of their best performance in an event. South African cyclists were then compared with elite international track and road cyclists in terms of somatic types and body composition. Results showed that South African track cyclists were in general less mesomorphic and endomorphic, while the road cyclists were also less endomorphic, but otherwise compared well with international road cyclists. South African cyclists' mean percentage body fat likewise compared well with international standards.